We are University of California faculty, staff, students, trainees, and alumni.

We are sending a letter to UC President Michael Drake to express our opposition to UC affiliations with healthcare entities that use religious directives to prohibit the use of contraception, gender-affirming care for transgender people, abortion, and assisted reproductive technology (e.g. sperm/egg donors, IVF).

These policies severely restrict standard-of-care services that are vital, and often life-saving, for millions of our UC patients. Underserved populations are particularly vulnerable to restrictions on care; healthcare systems that prohibit contraception and abortion significantly widen health inequities across the state of California.

We believe religious directives that prohibit essential services for women and LGBTQ+ people are antithetical to our UC values, our public, secular mission, and our commitment to equity, nondiscrimination, and care of the underserved. These restrictive systems of care harm vulnerable populations; UC affiliations with these entities elevate the needs of some patients at the expense of discriminating against others.

We understand the pressures to expand partnerships with non-UC entities in today’s healthcare marketplace. We urge President Drake to consider alternatives to meeting our clinical, research, and educational missions by partnering with hospital systems that do not impose religious restrictions on essential care.

→ Add your name below to sign on to this letter to UC leadership
→ See the full letter, including signatories, at ProtectCaliforniaPatients.com